


Comfort and Hope

by ladyarcherfan3



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Leia deserves nice things, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 13:27:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7575724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyarcherfan3/pseuds/ladyarcherfan3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leia has been strong for so long, but sometimes even she has to admit that she needs a little help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Comfort and Hope

**Author's Note:**

> This is all [glorious_clio](http://archiveofourown.org/users/glorious_clio/pseuds/glorious_clio)'s fault. This was inspired a bit by her work [Taking Root](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6737458/chapters/15398521) which you should read as well.

She twitched awake, gasping for breath.  The dream faded instantly, leaving behind only the sensation of terror and pain, weight and weariness.  The same feelings she had been pushing down and ignoring for the past years, too busy trying to save the galaxy to focus on herself.  A faint, echoing cry reverberated through her mind.  Tears rose, choking her, blinding her.  

 

_ Alderaan. _

 

Then, a real voice, full of warmth and life, spoke.  “Leia.  It’s okay.”  

 

Leia blinked and her surroundings swam into focus.  It was her bunk on the Falcon, darkened for her to sleep, but with a sliver of light slipping through the door.  Luke sat next to her, all but invisible in his black clothing.  

 

“Do you want some water?”  

 

“What happened?” she asked instead.  Ignoring the proffered water, she sat up, pulling the blankets with her; it was chilly and she felt raw and unarmored.  She scrubbed at one eye with a knuckle and then turned a glare on Luke.  “Well?”  Her hands automatically went to her hair and began braiding it.  For some incomprehensible reason, she had not put it up before going to bed.  And to have it loose was strange to begin with.    

 

His brow furrowed for a moment, before his face cleared.  “We were on Endor, celebrating.”  His voice was even, but with an edge of something she had labeled as his Jedi tone.  “Do you remember that?”  

 

She did.  She remembered the battle, being wounded, seeing the Death Star explode.  Remembered knowing that Luke had been away from the blast, had been safe, but in pain but at peace.  The Ewoks had built up bonfires, there had been dancing, and mourning.  She looked up at Luke sharply.  

 

“Are you okay?”  

 

He gaped at her.  “I asked you first,” he shot back after a moment.

 

She shook her head, chasing away his protest and focusing on the strangely fuzzy memories.  “You were at the pyre.  I didn’t join you.  I’m sorry.  But he was Vader, even if he was our biological father, he wasn’t -  _ isn’t _ \- my father.”

 

“Leia.”  He grasped her hands and held her gaze.  “I don’t blame you.  Not after what he did to you, to Han.  But Vader…” he sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.  “I had to come to my own peace with the fact that he was our father.  I can’t ask you to do the same.  What I am asking now, is about the state of your health and mental stability.  Your recall seems a bit slow.”

 

She disguised the rush of affection towards him with a snort.  “Since when did you become a med droid?”  

 

He just smiled and shook his head.  

 

“What did happen?  I remember the celebration.  I remember dancing, I know Wedge had some sort of liquor he was passing out.  Han and I were dancing -”  She stopped and blushed.  She and Han had done a bit more than dance.

 

Luke smirked and blushed a little as well, before laughing.  “Well, you and Han did disappear for a while.  But when you came back, you seemed fine.  But then you collapsed.  And it wasn’t just from the celebration.  You were … I could feel your distress through the Force.  It was very deep.”  

 

The cries from her dream overwhelmed her again, but sharper, like the moment it had happened.  

 

She was trapped in a small room with black walls, and interrogation droid bobbed closer.  She watched as Han was tortured and lowered into carbonite.  She clutched Luke close to her, shaking and sweaty and silently screaming in agony.  She was captured and stripped and humiliated.  Her home, family, friends had been destroyed.  She had fought so hard, for so long… 

 

It pressed down on her again, the same suffocating weight that had been building for years. Her walls and defenses snapped back into place, but sluggishly, and they wavered. She felt herself caving, dropping down into the pit that had claimed her and made her memories fuzzy.  

 

Then, her mental walls steadied. Her smooth white defenses were suffused with red and orange. Warmth filled her, and she recognized Luke’s presence, as intense and warm as the twin suns he had grown up under. 

 

She pulled out and away from the weight and the deep pit, and world swam back into view. Luke was still holding her hands in his, eyes in steady contact with hers, warm and solid and concerned. 

 

“Sorry,” she said. 

 

“Leia.” He shook his head and gripped her fingers tighter. “You have every right to feel this weight.  You have been so strong for so long, but now, let me help.” 

 

She tried to shake away from Luke’s eyes and hands, unwilling to admit her own weakness. He let her go, but did not move away. She went back to braiding her hair, avoiding his eyes.  Luke’s Force presence in her mind, however, continued to burn steady and soft. He wasn't trying to take over, or to take on the burdens. His strength was a buttress, not a new wall or an attempt at foundation.  Leia let her hands still, and let out a soft breath. She turned back to Luke, and reached for his hand.  

 

“Sorry,” she said again.

 

“Don't be. You have helped and held me up when you should have been getting the same.  You comforted me when Ben died, even though you had lost so much.  You found me in Cloud City, after losing Han. And everything that happened with Jabba…” He shook his head. “You are so strong Leia.  Stronger than me. But let me help hold you up, just for now.”

 

Leia looked down at their linked hands.  After a long moment, she nodded.  “All right. Thank you.”  

 

“Of course.  I’m your brother.”  He reached out to pet her half braided hair.  

 

She swatted at him and chuckled.  “Don’t push your luck.”  

 

“Then maybe I should leave then.”  

 

Her shields were still up and strong, the twin suns with them.  But being alone wasn’t something that she wanted.  “No,” she said softly.  She scooted over and patted the bed.  “Hop up.” 

 

“Wouldn’t you rather have Han come and cuddle?” Luke asked, his tone delicate. 

 

“Where  _ is  _ Han?”  She hadn’t forgotten him, but her mental struggle and Luke’s help had simply superseded anything else.

 

“I sent him to bed a few hours ago.  He was sitting with you for hours and looked like he was going to fall over.  He refused to sleep while he was watching you.”  He nodded towards the door.  “Do you want me to get him?”  

 

She shook her head.  “Let him rest.  And you.  Come on up and get comfy.”  

 

There wasn’t a lot of room, but they managed to find a position that worked for both of them.  Before long, Luke’s eyes slipped shut and his breathing was steady.  Leia wasn’t completely sure if he was asleep or if he was meditating.  It hardly mattered, as she relaxed and eased towards a natural sleep.  She felt warm and safe, in a way she hadn’t in a long time.  It was strange after so much war and grief.  But it was so good.  Those were her last thoughts before she fell asleep.  

 

She surfaced after a while, muzzy and not completely awake.  Luke was still next to her, their hands loosely clasped as they had been before they fell asleep.  There was a weight on her legs, and she managed to twist gently enough to see without waking Luke.  

 

Han was scrunched up on the chair, tipped forward with his arms and face on her calves.  It could hardly be comfortable for him, but for the moment she didn’t care.  She was settled, warm, safe and loved.  It wasn’t a feeling that she would have much in the future, not with with finishing off the Empire.  

  
Leia curled up a little tighter under the blanket.  She would deal with Han and his backache when they woke up.  For now, she was going to let the two people closest to her help her sleep. 


End file.
